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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is the first sustained and comprehensive attempt to base a whole account of animal rights around an interest-based theory of rights, and the first to use such a theory to deny that animals have an intrinsic right to liberty. It dispels once and for all the myth that animal rights must be about condemning all uses of animals and that a failure to do so commits one to an acceptance of an animal welfare ethic. -- Robert Garner, University of Leicester Non-human animals may have morally relevant interests in avoiding suffering and death without also possessing comparable interests in non-interference. By drawing on this neglected insight into the specificity of animals' interests, Cochrane's rigorous yet accessible book exposes a false dichotomy that has divided animal ethicists for decades, making a major advance in our understanding of the subject. -- Paula Casal, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Alasdair Cochrane argues that there is a plausible theory of animal rights that allows us to continue to own and use animals. It would be an understatement to say that I disagree with Cochrane but he does a fine job presenting the argument and his book will surely provoke debate and discussion. -- Gary L. Francione, Rutgers University ...thoughtful and thought-provoking, making it a welcome and highly recommended addition to personal and academic library Contemporary Ethics reference collections and supplemental reading lists.Midwest Book Review Midwest Book Review Well-argued Political Science ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Animals, Interests, and Rights 3. Animal Experimentation 4. Animal Agriculture 5. Animals and Genetic Engineering 6. Animal Entertainment 7. Animals and the Environment 8. Animals and Cultural Practices 9. Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA food history that illuminates a community’s struggle for survival.Trade ReviewChow Chop Suey is an eye-opener, a book that will give everyone a deep appreciation of the exquisite skill required to produce authentic Chinese food and the sweep of history that brought Chinese cooking to America. Anne Mendelson's prodigious research has given us a highly respectful, insightful, refreshing, wonderfully written, and utterly compelling account of the role and plight of Chinese restaurant workers in this country. I learned something new on every page. -- Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University and author of Soda Politics Well-written and impeccably researched, Chow Chop Suey is a beautiful ode both to the history of Chinese Americans and the intriguing ways in which China's rich food culture continues to take root here and flourish. Anne Mendelson's section on Chinese American cookbook writers is nothing less than a classic, for she brings sense and order to a long overlooked field with her customary clear perspective and dry wit. Mendelson is one of my favorite food writers and I'd expect nothing less, but this time she's outdone herself. -- Carolyn Phillips, author of All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China and The Dim Sum Field Guide There are other accounts of the American enthusiasm for Chinese food and the simultaneous persecution of Chinese immigrants. What makes Anne Mendelson's Chow Chop Suey unique is how it integrates cooking styles with American and Chinese cultural contrasts. Mendelson never loses sight of the food and how Chinese restaurants and American "experts" of various sorts shaped a cuisine that was both exotic and irresistible. No one has discussed in such a fascinating and authoritative way the American misunderstanding of basic Chinese culinary principles, the importance of a few key cookbooks and restaurants, and the gradual awakening of American palates to something resembling actual Chinese food in the postwar decades. Fun to read, judicious, and above all authoritative. -- Paul Freedman, author of Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination Chow Chop Suey is a well-written and insightful guide to the Chinese food scene in America. In a field full of myths, Anne Mendelson's book is accurate and detailed. A delightful read! -- Eugene N. Anderson, author of, Food and Environment in Early and Medieval China Anne Mendelson brings together political and culinary history, showing that it was by inventing quasi-Chinese dishes that titillated American palates that Cantonese immigrants found a way to survive anti-Asia persecution. Gripping, authoritative, and timely. -- Rachel Laudan, author of Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History A deeply researched look at the history of Chinese food in the U.S. I'll be dipping into it for years. Wall Street Journal A timely and nuanced reminder that Chinese-American identity has long been conflated with Chinese food. -- Peter Ho Davies Times Literary Supplement Anne Mendelson writes like the engaged scholar she is, with dry wit and easy, uncompromising erudition... [Chow Chop Suey] is full of wonder. New York Times A solid choice for readers interested in Chinese immigration and U.S.-China history, as well as those curious about American foodways and culinary culture. Library JournalTable of ContentsAcknowledgments A Note on Romanization and Terminology Introduction Prologue: A Stroke of the Pen Part I 1. Origins: The Toisan-California Pipeline 2. The Culinary "Language" Barrier 3. "Celestials" on Gold Mountain 4. The Road to Chinatown Part II 5. The Birth of Chinese American Cuisine 6. Change, Interchange, and the First Successful "Translators" 7. White America Rediscovers Chinese Cuisine 8. An Advancement of Learning 9. The First Age of Race-Blind Immigration Postscript: What Might Have Been Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisCapturing the unusual cultural character of a formative period and its intellectual ferment across multiple disciplines.Trade ReviewA rich and pathbreaking collection of materials that span the humanistic discipliines, this volume includes key texts that should not be omitted in a sourcebook of this kind as well as many that are available for the first time in English. Its thematic organization encourages new ways of thinking about the period that transcend traditional boundaries. The expert translations and extensive critical matter will make this an indispensable resource on early medieval China. -- Pauline Yu, President, American Council of Learned Societies [An] excellent resource... Highly recommended. CHOICE [A] pioneering handbook. Library JournalTable of ContentsChronological Contents Acknowledgments A Note on the Translations Abbreviations Introduction Part I. The North and the South by Jessey J. C. Choo 1. Return to the North? The Debate on Moving the Capital Back to Luoyang, by Jessey J. C. Choo 2. The Disputation at Pengcheng: Accounts from the Wei shu and the Song shu, by Albert E. Dien 3. Between Imitation and Mockery: The Southern Treatments of Northern Cultures, by Jessey J. C. Choo 4. Literary Imagination of the North and South, by Ping Wang Part II. Governing Mechanisms and Social Reality by Yang Lu 5. Managing Locality in Early Medieval China: Evidence from Changsha, by Yang Lu 6. Classical Scholarship in the Shu Region: The Case of Qiao Zhou, by J. Michael Farmer 7. Ranking Men and Assessing Talent: Xiahou Xuan's Response to an Inquiry by Sima Yi, by Timothy M. Davis 8. On Land and Wealth: Liu Zishang's "Petition on Closing Off Mountains and Lakes" and Yang Xi's "Discussion on Abolishing Old Regulations Regarding Mountains and Marshes", by Charles Holcombe 9. Crime and Punishment: The Case of Liu Hui in the Wei shu, by Jen-der Lee 10. Marriage and Social Status: Shen Yue's "Impeaching Wang Yuan", by David R. Knechtges 11. Religion and Society on the Silk Road: The Inscriptional Evidence from Turfan, by Huaiyu Chen Part III. Cultural Capital by Wendy Swartz 12. The Art of Discourse: Xi Kang's "Sound Is Without Sadness or Joy", by Robert Ashmore 13. Poetry on the Mysterious: The Writings of Sun Chuo, by Paul W. Kroll 14. The Art of Poetry Writing: Liu Xiaochuo's "Becoming the Number-One Person for the Number-One Position", by Ping Wang 15. Six Poems from a Liang Dynasty Princely Court, by Xiaofei Tian 16. Pei Ziye's "Discourse on Insect Carving", by Jack W. Chen 17. Classifying the Literary Tradition: Zhi Yu's "Discourse on Literary Compositions Divided by Genre", by Wendy Swartz 18. Zhong Rong's Preface to Grades of the Poets, by Stephen Owen 19. Book Collecting and Cataloging in the Age of Manuscript Culture: Xiao Yi's Master of the Golden Tower and Ruan Xiaoxu's Preface to Seven Records, by Xiaofei Tian Part IV. Imaging Self and Other by Wendy Swartz 20. Biographies of Recluses: Huangfu Mi's Accounts of High-Minded Men, by Alan Berkowitz 21. Classifications of People and Conduct: Selections from Liu Shao's Treatise on Personality and Liu Yiqing's Recent Anecdotes from the Talk of the Ages, by Jack W. Chen 22. The Literary Community at the Court of the Liang Crown Prince, by Ping Wang 23. Self-Narration: Tao Yuanming's "Biography of the Master of Five Willows" and Yuan Can's "Biography of the Master of Wonderful Virtue", by Wendy Swartz 24. On Political and Personal Fate: Three Selections from Jiang Yan's Prose and Verse, by Paul W. Kroll 25. The Shadow Image in the Cave: Discourse on Icons, by Eugene Wang Part V. Everyday Life by Jessey J. C. Choo and Albert E. Dien 26. Dietary Habits: Shu Xi's "Rhapsody on Pasta", by David R. Knechtges 27. The Epitaph of a Third-Century Wet Nurse, Xu Yi, by Jen-der Lee 28. Festival and Ritual Calendar: Selections from Record of the Year and Seasons of Jing-Chu, by Ian Chapman 29. Custom and Society: The Family Instructions of Mr. Yan, by Albert E. Dien 30. Adoption and Motherhood: "The Petition Submitted by Lady [nee] Yu", by Jessey J. C. Choo 31. Estate Culture in Early Medieval China: The Case of Shi Chong, by David R. Knechtges Part VI. Relations with the Unseen World by Robert Ford Campany 32. Biographies of Eight Autocremators and Huijiao's "Critical Evaluation", by James A. Benn 33. Divine Instructions for an Official, by Stephen R. Bokenkamp 34. Tales of Strange Events, by Robert Ford Campany 35. Texts for Stabilizing Tombs, by Timothy M. Davis 36. Reciting Scriptures to Move the Spirits, by Clarke Hudson 37. Confucian Views of the Supernatural, by Keith N. Knapp 38. Encounters in Mountains, by Gil Raz List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisA classical historian confronts our crises of time, radically calling into question our relations to the past, present, and future.Trade ReviewSince his classic Mirror of Herodotus, Francois Hartog has emerged as the most significant theorist of history and chronicler of our changing relationship to our own past that France has produced. In this series of meditative chapters, he takes us from the Greeks to the present once more, emphasizing how the theory of history must move from diagnosing the modern gap between expectation and experience to confronting the exigency of historical crisis today. Hartog's reflections are valuable for all humanists. -- Samuel Moyn, Columbia University In a book that should be required reading for anyone interested in history's role in contemporary society, Francois Hartog shows how unexamined assumptions about the past shape our understandings of ourselves and our place in history. -- Lynn Hunt, University of California, Los Angeles Francois Hartog's pioneering work on the concept of 'regimes of historicity' makes this book a must for scholars in both the social sciences and the humanities. A distinguished classical historian, Hartog uses specific, well-chosen examples to explain how understanding regimes of historicity will allow us to better understand the conditions of possibility for producing histories and, more generally, our own relationship to time. -- Robert Morrissey, University of Chicago Francois Hartog is perhaps the most important historian of historiography today... Regimes of Historicity should be required reading for anyone interested in the past, present, and future writing of history. American Historical Review Regimes of Historicity should be required reading for anyone interested in the past, present, and future writing of history. Time's BooksTable of ContentsPresentism: Stopgap or New State? Introduction: Orders of Time and Regimes of Historicity Orders of Time 1 1. Making History: Sahlins's Islands 2. From Odysseus's Tears to Augustine's Meditations 3. Chateaubriand, Between Old and New Regimes of Historicity Orders of Time 2 4. Memory, History, and the Present 5. Heritage and the Present Our Doubly Indebted Present: The Reign of Presentism Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAltogether a tremendous achievement.... This volume provides us with an immediate sense of the scale and diversity of Gramsci's project. -- Richard Bellamy * Times Literary Supplement *An impressive and welcome commencement to the translation of one of the great intellectual legacies of the twentieth century...in Gramsci, Marxism acquires the founder of a proletarian intellectual tradition that is likely to continue as long as society has use for democracy. -- William Hartley * Italian Quarterly *

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Book SynopsisThe Greeks and Romans were not shy about sex. In classical Greece, statues of erect penises served as boundary-stones and signposts. In Rome, marble satyrs and nymphs grappled in gardens. How are we to make sense of this abundance of sexual imagery? Were these images seductive, shocking, humorous? This title answers these questions.

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Book SynopsisThe source of tremendous power and the focus of incredible devotion, throughout history notions of beauty have been integral to social life and culture. Each age has had its own standards: a gleaming white brow during the Renaissance, the black eyebrows considered charming in the early eighteenth century, and the thin lips thought desirable by Victorians. Beauty has ensured good marriages, enabled social mobility and offered fame and notoriety, and has led women and some men to remarkable lengths in cultivating it, from the dangerous quantities of lead applied by Elizabeth I, to the women of the 1940s and ''50s, who employed face powder, lipstick and mascara to look their best during the privations of war and austerity, creating a chic appearance to which many still aspire.Table of ContentsThe Sin of Vanity The Fairy Queen Pale and Lovely Beauty and Blackmail The Actress and the Ingénue From Elegance to Expression Index

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Book SynopsisA concise, illustrated guide to these Second World War defences scattered across the British landscape.With invasion a very real threat, in 1940 Great Britain began a huge military construction programme designed to stop an invading army in its tracks. Around vulnerable coastlines, and inland, thousands of pillboxes, anti-tank barriers and other obstacles were erected to defend against attacks from sea and sky. Though many of these structures were dismantled in the wake of the Second World War, the coast and even some inland areas still boast a wealth of fascinating remains. In this fully illustrated introduction, fortifications authority Bernard Lowry guides the inquiring reader in identifying these remaining defensive structures and explains their seemingly ''random'' placement across the British landscape.Table of ContentsAn Island Fortress Britain Alone A Pause for Breath 1942: A New Defence Policy Britain Becomes a Fortified Island 1944: Tidying Up and Aftermath Further Reading Places to Visit Index

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Book SynopsisGypsies have been a part of the British and European social fabric for centuries and have faced prejudice and oppression for nearly as long, since at least the time of Henry VIII. Theirs is a peripatetic existence, dwelling in tents and in caravans and living often precariously at the edges of towns and villages, moving on in search of opportunities or as mainstream society drives them away. Gypsies of Britain explores the history of this unique lifestyle, looking at how Gypsies have maintained their distinctive culture and how they have adapted to the twenty-first century, and shedding light on a range of traditional Gypsy occupations including harvesting, horse-dealing, fortune-telling and rat-catching. Archive illustrations and modern photographs depict their lives, work and ornately carved and painted caravans.Table of ContentsIntroduction / Travelling Groups in Britain / Travelling Patterns and Abodes / Earning a Living / Evangelism and War Work / The Twenty-first Century / Further Information / Index

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Book SynopsisThis title explores what life was like in the 1950s American home. An age of optimism, it is about living the American Dream and how this was achieved, changes in the home, new convenience technology, new ways of living. From Ranch House to American Modernism to affordable homes in the suburbs, this was how to live the good life in an era of unprecedented prosperity and opportunity.Table of ContentsA Clean Break: Achieving the American Dream / Home Sweet Home: Domestic Architectural Styles / How They Lived: The Living Room / The Woman's Realm: The Kitchen, Food and Entertaining / The Good Life: 1950s American Style / Places to v Visit / Further Reading / Index

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Book SynopsisOver the centuries Britain's soil has yielded countless spectacular hoards of ancient coins and other artefacts, affording us priceless insights into our ancestors' lives and it is not only such large finds that await discovery but also many thousands of individual pieces. Wonderfully, discoveries both minor and momentous are frequently made not by teams of professionals but by amateur archaeologists and metal-detector enthusiasts, for whom this book is intended as a helpful companion. It provides a catalogue of commonly encountered coins, dating from ancient times until the modern day, explaining their historical context, how they might have come to be lost and where they may be found today.Table of ContentsBritain’s Buried Coinage / Iron Age Coins / Roman Coins / Medieval Coins / Post-medieval Coins / Tokens, Counters and Medals / Recording Coin Finds / Further Reading / Index

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Book SynopsisThe groundbreaking series that will tell the story of Britain from VE Day in 1945 to the coming of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 as never beforeTrade Review'This is a classic; buy at least three copies - one for yourself and two to give to friends and family' John Charmley, Guardian 'The book is a marvel ... the fullest, deepest and most balanced history of our times' Sunday Telegraph 'What a treat we have in store *****' Craig Brown's Book of the Week, Mail on Sunday 'A wonderfully illuminating picture of the way we were' Roy Hattersley, The Times

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of night - the nocturnal world, insomnia, the creative potential of the dark hours, the work that happens at night to keep the modern world moving - by Sunday Times bestselling author Dan Richards

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Book Synopsis* The book is a remarkable piece of modern history which tells the story - for the first time - of a speech that was written by Pope Pius XI in 1939 in which he was intending to speak out against Mussolini and the Fascists and condemn anti-Semitism.Trade Review"Simply put, this is the most thorough and best documented study yet to appear on Pius XI."America Magazine "This excellent new book unearths and magisterially exposes new evidence - a key document for those interested in Europe's turbulent pre-war history."Hugh O'Shaughnessy, Review 31 "A first-rate study."American Historical Review "Now the most comprehensive work on the Vatican's relations with states and national churches in western and central Europe in the 1930s."European History Quarterly "Insightful, provocative and original. Fattorini's examination of Pius XI's evolving attitudes toward totalitarian states is complex and convincing."The Journal of Modern History "A revealing insight into European politics in the 1930s, and the first scholarly attempt to look at the Church's relationship with Fascism and the Nazis during that period."Birmingham Jewish Recorder "A crucial new perspective on the relationship between the Vatican, Mussolini's Fascism, and National Socialism. The tendency to focus exclusively on Eugenio Pacelli, the future wartime pope Pius XII, has obscured the troubled papacy of Pius X1 between 1922 and 1939. Professor Fattorini's narrative, in the light of the recent release of Vatican documents of the period, is sure to breathe new life into this controversial era of Church-state relations on the brink of world war."John Cornwell, University of Cambridge "Emma Fattorini's remarkable work extends our understanding of how the leadership of the Catholic Church grappled with fascism and Nazism. She does so by drawing on riveting documentation recently released from the Vatican Secret Archive and by focusing on the relatively overlooked pontificate of Pius XI. "Michael R. Marrus, University of Toronto "Fattorini's objective and scholarly volume helps to demolish the long-prevailing belief that Pius XI and his secretary of state Eugenio Pacelli - later his successor as Pius XII - concurred in the policy to pursue towards fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. She demonstrates, on the basis of solid documentation, that, while Pius XI increasingly perceived the need for confrontation with these regimes after 1936, Pacelli preferred conciliation and impartiality - policies he pursued during World War II and the Holocaust."Frank Coppa, St John's University "Emma Fattorini has produced an important work on the activities of the Vatican in the years leading up to World War II. She portrays a pope whose spirituality, rather than political views, led him increasingly to speak out against Nazism. Her book adds to a slowly increasing body of literature which illustrates that, while the Vatican may have been slow in speaking out about the persecution of the Jews, no one in the secretariat of state harbored any sympathy for Hitler."Gerald Fogarty, University of Virginia

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Book SynopsisThis innovative volume presents for the first time collective expertise on women's magazines and periodicals of the long eighteenth century.

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Book SynopsisThis volume explores the experience of everyday life in Scotland during a period of immense political, social and economic change.Trade ReviewBook review: A History of Everyday Life in Scotland 1600-1800Premium Article 05 April 2010 By TC SMOUT A History of Everyday Life in Scotland 1600-1800 Edited by Elizabeth Foyster and Christopher A Whatley Edinburgh University Press, 352pp, GBP24.99 NOTHING in history is more difficult to uncover than everyday life. The epics of kings and politicians rest on sources ranging from the registers of the state to the memoirs of sycophantic courtiers. The records of the church are voluminous and formaADVERTISEMENTl. The records of trade and industry are left in ledgers. Great events that are not everyday, especially wars and disasters, have their chroniclers. But the routines of ordinary life are elusive, often unrecorded, and the historian often has to approach the task obliquely and persistently, aware there will be lacunae and difficult judgments to make. This book is the first of a series of four that will try to uncover the routines of our pasts, and it chooses to do so in the 17th and 18th centuries when Scotland was first wracked with civil and ecclesiastical war, then bolted into union with a powerful neighbour, then wracked again with rebellion and rapid economic and social change. We know a lot about all those themes. What we know less about are everyday things like food and clothes, smells and noises, travelling, rejoicing and courting, working and relaxing, believing and doubting. In 11 chapters, this book tries to explore some of this territory, aware that there will be gaps that cannot be filled, yet using a variety of sources and approaches to illuminate the routines and peculiarities of our pasts. Because it is an edited volume, it lacks a single tone and some chapters are more satisfying than others. But you cannot read it without learning a lot; it is entertaining, surprising and instructive. Take, for example, the all-male Highland funeral of the 1720s, where an English observer found "pyramids of plum cake, sweetmeats and several dishes, with pipes and tobacco". When it was over the men took the remaining sweetmeats away in their hats and pockets, "which enables you to make a great compliment to the women of your acquaintance". Flirting with funeral leftovers is probably a lost art. Or the advertisement for the Saracen's Head in Glasgow in 1754, which commends the 36 bedchambers "none of them entering through another, so there is no need of going out of doors to get to them" and all the beds "very good, clean and free from Bugs". This speaks volumes about expectations. The essence of history, of course, is change. How different did everyday life become in Scotland over these two centuries? Up to around 1750, the answer seems to be that it was not so different from what it had been in 1600; food was still based on oatmeal (up to 37 ounces a day) and clothing was mainly woollen and of dark colours. White was for the wealthy, because it showed you could afford to have your clothes washed by someone else. By 1800, things had improved marginally for the poorer classes and more so for the middle classes and the rich: more meat was eaten by most people, potatoes had arrived, more linen and cotton were worn and soap was more available. In terms of belief, Sabbath observance still reigned supreme though there was a shortage of places in kirk for the urban poor. Witches and fairies had been relegated from being the living imps of Satan to becoming mere superstitions in remote country places. Work was more controlled and onerous, but also more regular and better remunerated: the industrial workforce at this stage of factory development depended heavily on women and children, but so did rising household earnings. This is a book with ambitious coverage, with chapters on rural life, architecture, birth, death and marriage, illness, food and clothing, literacy and education, keeping order, belief, travel and work. One chapter by Elizabeth Foyster deals with smells, sound and touch. It is particularly full of unexpected insights, like the way in which a traveller could have been led blindfolded round a town and still known where he was by the smells and sounds of different quarters harbouring the tanners, dyers, butchers, bakers, brewers and hammermen, all concentrated in different quarters. Edinburgh, as a city, smelt vile, but Glasgow by contrast was commended, in 1669 famous for "sweetness of air" and a century later for the way its markets for fish and meat were "constantly kept sweet and neat" by channels of water. What was it like being ill in the past? Helen Dingwall has a particularly illuminating account of the impact and practice of medicine (both official and folk), covering most aspects except dentistry, at least sparing us that vicarious agony. Pain and illness were a social leveller, equally inflicted on rich and poor, without much relief that money could buy. Medicine in towns was more likely to attract professional doctors and pharmacists than in the country -- there was said to be only one "medical man" for 50 miles north of Aberdeen at the start of the 18th century. Remedies were mainly herbal everywhere, and directed at relieving symptoms rather than curing disease. There is much here that is fascinating. Some things irritate. It is sad to see the dreary modern use of "the 1600s" and "the 1700s" in place of the 17th and 18th centuries. If one is told that witch persecution flourished in the early 1660s, one knows it was between 1660 and 1665. If one is told, as here, of struggles between church and crown "during the 1600s" one has to know in advance if it means between 1600 and 1609 or in the wider 17th century. There are inevitably omissions as well. Little is said, in dealing with education, about school routines. How long were school days, what were the routines of learning, how and how frequently were children punished? It would have been interesting to learn about external horizons, too; was not Aberdeen, for example, closer culturally and commercially to the Netherlands than to Glasgow? But this is a book full of insights and genuinely pioneering. We can look forward to the following volumes. -- T.C. Smout The Scotsman This is a book with ambitious coverage, with chapters on rural life, architecture, birth, death and marriage, illness, food and clothing, literacy and education, keeping order, belief, travel and work... There is much here that is fascinating... This is a book full of insights and genuinely pioneering. We can look forward to the following volumes -- T.C. Smout The Scotsman The essays will be of interest to both casual and expert readers, and taken together they add up to an impressive and stimulating snapshot of early-modern Scottish society. Moreover, the reading experience is enhanced by the high quality of the production, the wide range of engaging and unusual illustrations, and the provision for each chapter of brief but useful guides to further reading... There can be no doubt about the importance of this publication. It offers a stimulating and authoritative overview of Scottish social history in the early-modern period, written by a group of historians whose expertise and formidable familiarity with the sources are obvious. As a synthesis of past and current research it provides a resource that will be especially cherished by historians and students. But equally importantly, its determination to look beyond the obvious, to interrogate the sources in innovative and imaginative ways, and to give a voice to the almost silent masses of history, is a welcome reminder of the richness of the historian's craft, not to mention a stirring battle-cry to expand horizons ever further. -- Allan Kennedy, University of Stirling History Scotland A vauluable addition to a growing historiography of ordinary, everyday life. -- Alexandra Logue, University of Guelph International Review of Scottish Studies Book review: A History of Everyday Life in Scotland 1600-1800Premium Article 05 April 2010 By TC SMOUT A History of Everyday Life in Scotland 1600-1800 Edited by Elizabeth Foyster and Christopher A Whatley Edinburgh University Press, 352pp, GBP24.99 NOTHING in history is more difficult to uncover than everyday life. The epics of kings and politicians rest on sources ranging from the registers of the state to the memoirs of sycophantic courtiers. The records of the church are voluminous and formaADVERTISEMENTl. The records of trade and industry are left in ledgers. Great events that are not everyday, especially wars and disasters, have their chroniclers. But the routines of ordinary life are elusive, often unrecorded, and the historian often has to approach the task obliquely and persistently, aware there will be lacunae and difficult judgments to make. This book is the first of a series of four that will try to uncover the routines of our pasts, and it chooses to do so in the 17th and 18th centuries when Scotland was first wracked with civil and ecclesiastical war, then bolted into union with a powerful neighbour, then wracked again with rebellion and rapid economic and social change. We know a lot about all those themes. What we know less about are everyday things like food and clothes, smells and noises, travelling, rejoicing and courting, working and relaxing, believing and doubting. In 11 chapters, this book tries to explore some of this territory, aware that there will be gaps that cannot be filled, yet using a variety of sources and approaches to illuminate the routines and peculiarities of our pasts. Because it is an edited volume, it lacks a single tone and some chapters are more satisfying than others. But you cannot read it without learning a lot; it is entertaining, surprising and instructive. Take, for example, the all-male Highland funeral of the 1720s, where an English observer found "pyramids of plum cake, sweetmeats and several dishes, with pipes and tobacco". When it was over the men took the remaining sweetmeats away in their hats and pockets, "which enables you to make a great compliment to the women of your acquaintance". Flirting with funeral leftovers is probably a lost art. Or the advertisement for the Saracen's Head in Glasgow in 1754, which commends the 36 bedchambers "none of them entering through another, so there is no need of going out of doors to get to them" and all the beds "very good, clean and free from Bugs". This speaks volumes about expectations. The essence of history, of course, is change. How different did everyday life become in Scotland over these two centuries? Up to around 1750, the answer seems to be that it was not so different from what it had been in 1600; food was still based on oatmeal (up to 37 ounces a day) and clothing was mainly woollen and of dark colours. White was for the wealthy, because it showed you could afford to have your clothes washed by someone else. By 1800, things had improved marginally for the poorer classes and more so for the middle classes and the rich: more meat was eaten by most people, potatoes had arrived, more linen and cotton were worn and soap was more available. In terms of belief, Sabbath observance still reigned supreme though there was a shortage of places in kirk for the urban poor. Witches and fairies had been relegated from being the living imps of Satan to becoming mere superstitions in remote country places. Work was more controlled and onerous, but also more regular and better remunerated: the industrial workforce at this stage of factory development depended heavily on women and children, but so did rising household earnings. This is a book with ambitious coverage, with chapters on rural life, architecture, birth, death and marriage, illness, food and clothing, literacy and education, keeping order, belief, travel and work. One chapter by Elizabeth Foyster deals with smells, sound and touch. It is particularly full of unexpected insights, like the way in which a traveller could have been led blindfolded round a town and still known where he was by the smells and sounds of different quarters harbouring the tanners, dyers, butchers, bakers, brewers and hammermen, all concentrated in different quarters. Edinburgh, as a city, smelt vile, but Glasgow by contrast was commended, in 1669 famous for "sweetness of air" and a century later for the way its markets for fish and meat were "constantly kept sweet and neat" by channels of water. What was it like being ill in the past? Helen Dingwall has a particularly illuminating account of the impact and practice of medicine (both official and folk), covering most aspects except dentistry, at least sparing us that vicarious agony. Pain and illness were a social leveller, equally inflicted on rich and poor, without much relief that money could buy. Medicine in towns was more likely to attract professional doctors and pharmacists than in the country -- there was said to be only one "medical man" for 50 miles north of Aberdeen at the start of the 18th century. Remedies were mainly herbal everywhere, and directed at relieving symptoms rather than curing disease. There is much here that is fascinating. Some things irritate. It is sad to see the dreary modern use of "the 1600s" and "the 1700s" in place of the 17th and 18th centuries. If one is told that witch persecution flourished in the early 1660s, one knows it was between 1660 and 1665. If one is told, as here, of struggles between church and crown "during the 1600s" one has to know in advance if it means between 1600 and 1609 or in the wider 17th century. There are inevitably omissions as well. Little is said, in dealing with education, about school routines. How long were school days, what were the routines of learning, how and how frequently were children punished? It would have been interesting to learn about external horizons, too; was not Aberdeen, for example, closer culturally and commercially to the Netherlands than to Glasgow? But this is a book full of insights and genuinely pioneering. We can look forward to the following volumes. This is a book with ambitious coverage, with chapters on rural life, architecture, birth, death and marriage, illness, food and clothing, literacy and education, keeping order, belief, travel and work... There is much here that is fascinating... This is a book full of insights and genuinely pioneering. We can look forward to the following volumes The essays will be of interest to both casual and expert readers, and taken together they add up to an impressive and stimulating snapshot of early-modern Scottish society. Moreover, the reading experience is enhanced by the high quality of the production, the wide range of engaging and unusual illustrations, and the provision for each chapter of brief but useful guides to further reading... There can be no doubt about the importance of this publication. It offers a stimulating and authoritative overview of Scottish social history in the early-modern period, written by a group of historians whose expertise and formidable familiarity with the sources are obvious. As a synthesis of past and current research it provides a resource that will be especially cherished by historians and students. But equally importantly, its determination to look beyond the obvious, to interrogate the sources in innovative and imaginative ways, and to give a voice to the almost silent masses of history, is a welcome reminder of the richness of the historian's craft, not to mention a stirring battle-cry to expand horizons ever further. A vauluable addition to a growing historiography of ordinary, everyday life.Table of ContentsForeword; Introduction; Chapter 1: Everyday Structures, Rhythms and Spaces of the Scottish Countryside, Robert A. Dodgshon; Chapter 2: Improvement and Modernisation in Everyday Enlightenment Scotland, Charles McKean; Chapter 3: Death, Birth and Marriage, Deborah A. Symonds; Chapter 4: Illness, Disease and Pain, Helen M. Dingwall; Chapter 5: Necessities: Food and Clothing in the Long Eighteenth Century, Stana Nenadic; Chapter 6: Communicating, Bob Harris; Chapter 7: Order and Disorder, Christopher A. Whatley; Chapter 8: Sensory Experiences: Smells, Sounds and Touch, Elizabeth Foyster; Chapter 9: Beliefs, Religions, Fears and Neuroses, Joyce Miller; Chapter 10: Movement, Transport and Travel, Alastair Durie; Chapter 11: Work, Time and Pastimes, Christopher A. Whatley.

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Book SynopsisThe battle of Bannockburn, fought on the fields south of Stirling at midsummer 1314, is the best known event in the history of Medieval Scotland. It was a unique event. The clash of two armies, each led by a king, followed a clear challenge to a battle to determine the status of Scotland and its survival as a separate realm. As a key point in the Anglo-Scottish wars of the fourteenth century, the battle has been extensively discussed, but Bannockburn was also a pivotal event in the history of the British Isles. This book analyses the road to Bannockburn, the campaign of 1314 and the aftermath of the fight. It demonstrates that in both its context and legacy the battle had a central significance in the shaping of nations and identities in the late Medieval British Isles.Trade ReviewAn important and well documented study, clearly written and readable. Northern History An important and well documented study, clearly written and readable.

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Book SynopsisEleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece 1910-1920 and 1928-1932, is regarded by many as the creator of contemporary Greece and one of the main actors in European diplomacy during his time in office.This book draws on considerable new research and places the study of Venizelos'' leadership in the broad setting of twentieth-century politics and diplomacy. The complex and often dramatic trajectory of Venizelos'' career from Cretan rebel to an admired European statesman is charted in a sequence of chapters that survey his meteoric rise and great achievements in Greek and European politics amidst violent passions and tragic conflicts. Further chapters appraise in depth some critical aspects of his policies, while a conclusion offers a glimpse into a great statesman''s personal and intellectual world.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Note on transliteration Introduction. Perspectives on a Leader I: SETTING THE STAGE 1. A Century of Revolutions. The Cretan Question between European and Near Eastern Politics 2. Venizelos' Early Life and Political Career in Crete (1864-1910) II: THE DRAMA OF HIGH POLITICS 3. Venizelos' Advent in Greek Politics, 1909-1912 4. Protagonist in Politics,1912-1920 5. Venizelos' Diplomacy 1910-1923: From Balkan Alliance to Greek-Turkish Settlement 6. Reconstructing Greece as a European State: Venizelos' Last Premiership, 1928-1932 7. I. S. Koliopoulos: The Last Years, 1933-1936 III: THE CONTENT OF POLITICAL ACTION 8. Eleftherios Venizelos and the Experiment of Inclusive Constitutionalism 9. Venizelos and Civil-Military Relations 10. Venizelos and Economic Policy 11. Modernisation and reaction in Greek education during the Venizelos era 12. Andreas Nanakis: Venizelos and Church-State Relations 351 IV: OFFSTAGE 13. Venizelos' Intellectual Projects and Cultural Interests Contributors

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Book SynopsisThis authoritative reference work examines literary and artistic responses to the war's upheavals across a wide range of media and genres, from poetry to pamphlets, sculpture to television documentary, and requiems to war reporting.

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Book SynopsisExplore Culzean Castle with this book!Culzean Castle on the Ayrshire coast is the most visited property of the National Trust for Scotland. This lavishly illustrated book tells the whole history of the castle. Michael Moss has carried out extensive research, drawing on estate records, original plans and family correspondence to create a major new history of the castle and a fascinating account of the running of a Scottish country estate. With new pictures, many of them in colour, and an accessible style, this is essential reading for anyone interested in Scottish history and Scottish architecture.Built in the late sixteenth century above a network of caves, the castle became a centre for smuggling during the eighteenth century. Sir Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassillis, went on an extended grand tour in the 1750s and returned full of ideas as to how to improve his vast estates and home. His brother and heir commissioned Robert Adam to create his masterpiece and became bankrupt as a result. The estatTrade ReviewA fascinating study ... well illustrated by numerous reproductions of paintings, watercolors, lithographs, engravings, architectural plans and photographs... Moss has presented an entertaining, well-researched and composed book. -- J. Craig Stirling Scotia A fascinating study ... well illustrated by numerous reproductions of paintings, watercolors, lithographs, engravings, architectural plans and photographs... Moss has presented an entertaining, well-researched and composed book.

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Book SynopsisPulitzer-prize winning author David Halberstam''s eyewitness account provides a riveting narrative of how the United States created a major foreign policy disaster for itself in a faraway land it knew little about. In the introduction to this edition, historian Daniel J. Singal supplies crucial background information that was unavailable in the mid-1960s when the book was written. With its numerous firsthand recollections of life in the war zone, The Making of a Quagmire penetrates to the essence of what went wrong in Vietnam. Although its focus is the Kennedy era, its analysis of the blunders and misconceptions of American military and political leaders holds true for the entire war.Trade ReviewFor all the legions of books published on the Vietnam War, none surpasses one of the earliest and most prescient—David Halberstam's The Making of a Quagmire. Halberstam's shrewd observations of the complexities of Vietnamese politics and the obstacles the U.S. faced early in achieving its goals deeply inform the entire book. A brilliant study that has lost none of its power despite the history that unfolded after its publication, Halberstam's book deserves to be read again and again. -- Ellen Fitzpatrick, Carpenter Professor of History, University of New HampshireFew journalists did more to educate Americans about the harsh realities of the Vietnam war than David Halberstam. The Making of a Quagmire offers numerous insights into the conflict between the American press and the U.S. government that began in those years and ultimately played a major role in the war. The book is a valuable introduction to Vietnam in the era of John F. Kennedy and Ngo Dinh Diem. -- George C. Herring, University of KentuckyAs it did in 1965, Halberstam's book will provoke vigorous discussion. Readers will marvel at how the United States allowed itself to be so misled in South Vietnam and will use the book to make connections to more recent events in the Middle East. -- Robert DallekHalberstam's wartime work will last not just because of its quality and its importance but because it established a new mode of journalism, one with which Americans are now so familiar that it's difficult to remember that someone had to invent it. -- George Packer * The New Yorker *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Edging Toward Calamity: Vietnam in the Early 1960s Chapter 1: Coming into a Troubled Land Chapter 2: Latter-Day Mandarins: The Ngo Family Chapter 3: A Strange Alliance: The Americans and Diem Part II: The War in the Delta Chapter 4: In the Field with the ARVN Chapter 5: Finding an Elusive Foe Chapter 6: Disaster: The Battle of Ap Bac Chapter 7: Collapse in the Delta Part III: The Fall of the Diem Regime Chapter 8: The Buddhist Revolt Begins Chapter 9: The Raid on the Pagodas Chapter 10: A Slow Change in American Policy Chapter 11: The Saigon Press Controversy Chapter 12: The Final Days of Ngo Dinh Diem Chapter 13: What Should Be Done in Vietnam? Epilogue: Return to Vietnam

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Book SynopsisFidel Castro is one of the most interesting and controversial personalities of our time he has become a myth and an icon. He was the first Cuban Caudillo the man who freed his country from dependence on the USA and who lead his people to rediscover their national identity and pride. Castro has outlived generations of American presidents and Soviet leaders. He has survived countless assassination attempts by the CIA, the Mafia, and Cubans living in exile. He has become one of the greatest politicians of the 20th Century. His biography, and the history of his country exemplify the tensions between East and West, North and South, rich and poor. As Castro''s life draws to a close, the question as to what will become of Cuba is more important that ever. Will Castro open Cuba to economic reform and democratization, or stick to his old slogan socialism or death? In this remarkable, up-to-date reconstruction of Castro''s life, Volker Skierka addresses these queTrade Review"A comprehensive and highly readable biography written in a remarkably even-handed tone." The Guardian "Volker Skierka has written the book that those wanting to understand the present-day politics of Cuba and its ruler have been awaiting for a long time. He has done so with a freshness, simplicity and elegance that makes it a pleasure to read ... accessible and fascinating to the casual reader and the specialist alike." BBC History Magazine "An exceptional, evenhanded portrait of an undeniably strong leader's strengths and weaknesses." Midwest Book Review "A fascinatingly good read and a treasure trove of information." Morning Star "Volker Skierka's study of Castro stands out for its admirable clarity and accessibility. Synthesizing a wealth of literature, and casting a cool eye on the official pieties of both Havana and Washington, Skierka has drawn a critical but far from unsympathetic portrait of this extraordinary figure of the Cold War world whose personal tenacity ensured that Cuban Communism survived with him into the new millennium." James Dunkerley, Queen Mary UniversityTable of ContentsList of plates. A Note of Thanks. Acknowledgements. Preface to the English Edition. 1. The Heroic Myth. 2. The Young Fidel. Among Jesuits. Among gangsters. 3. The Young Revolutionary. Storm and stress: Moncada. “Che”, the Argentinean. Stormy crossing on the Granma. A guerillero in the Sierra Maestra. 321 against 10,000. 4. The Young Victor. Communists and “barbudos”. 1,500 revolutionary laws. 5. Old Enemies, New Friends. The great powers at the gates. The CIA, the Mafia and the Bay of Pigs. Fidelismo. “Mongoose” and “Anadyr”. Thirteen days on the brink of a third world war. Three gamblers. 6. The Long March with Che. Moscow, Beijing, and Havana. The new man. The demise of Che. 7. Bad Times, Good Times. War and peace with Moscow. Ten million tons. Into the Third World. The revolution devours its children. 8. Alone Against All. Exodus to Florida. Rectificacion and perestroika. The Soviet imperium collapses. The brother’s power. War economy in peacetime. 9. The Eternal Revolutionary. Class Struggle on a dollar basis. Cuba and the global policeman. Castro, God and the Pope. Freedom or “socialismo tropical”. 10. Don Quixote and History. Notes. Bibliography. Index

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Book SynopsisAfter more than eight years of research, shipwreck hunter Jennifer N. Sellitti has delivered the first and definitive account of the sinking of Le Lyonnais and the hunt for Jonathan Durham.

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Book SynopsisThis book is about the reinvention of the Roman Empire during the eighty years between the accession of Diocletian and the death of Julian. How had it changed? The emperors were still warriors and expected to take the field. Rome was still the capital, at least symbolically. There was still a Roman senate, though with new rules brought in by Constantine. There were still provincial governors, but more now and with fewer duties in smaller areas; and military command was increasingly separated from civil jurisdiction and administration. The neighbours in Persia, Germania and on the Danube were more assertive and better organised, which had a knock-on effect on Roman institutions. The achievement of Diocletian and his successors down to Julian was to create a viable apparatus of control which allowed a large and at times unstable area to be policed, defended and exploited. The book offers a different perspective on the development often taken to be the distinctive feature of these years, namely the rise of Christianity. Imperial endorsement and patronage of the Christian god and the expanded social role of the Church are a significant prelude to the Byzantine state. The author argues that the reigns of the Christian-supporting Constantine and his sons were a foretaste of what was to come, but not a complete or coherent statement of how Church and State were to react with each other.Trade ReviewThis elegant and exciting book offers a fresh approach to understanding "early" late Antiquity. The breadth of vision is impressive. Jill Harries' triumph is to place Constantine and his promotion of Christianity in the context of a fully-rounded history of the Roman Empire from Diocletian to Julian. -- Dr Christopher Kelly, University of CambridgeTable of ContentsMaps and illustrations; Preface; Abbreviations; Chapter 1, The Long Third Century; Chapter 2, Four lords of the world, AD 284-311; Chapter 3, The Empire renewed; Chapter 4, The Return of the Old Gods; Chapter 5, The victory of Constantine; Chapter 6, Towards the sunrise: Constantine Augustus; Chapter 7, Constructing the Christian emperor; Chapter 8, The sons of Constantine; Chapter 9, Warfare and Imperial Security AD 337-361; Chapter 10, Church and Empire; Chapter 11, Images of women; Chapter 12, Rome and Antioch; Chapter 13, Julian Augustus; Chapter 14, The funeral director; Chronology; Guide to Further Reading; Bibliography of Modern Works Cited; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book is about the formative period of the Roman state.

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Book SynopsisTyburn Fields is the best known site of execution in London, but London may be aptly named the executioner''s city, so many were the places where executions could and did occur. This book reveals the capital as a place where the bodies of criminals defined the boundaries of the city and heads on poles greeted patrons on London Bridge.

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Book SynopsisGeoffrey Ashe''s book on this legendary figure offers a succession of surprises. The Merlin of legend was born to be a magician. He was ''immaculately'' conceived and was able to interpret dreams and utter prophecies. Even his fate was imbued with magic. Like Arthur, he acquired immortality and sleeps on Bardsey Island, in a subterranean chamber with nine companions. Ashe reveals the man behind the myth, establishing beyond doubt the historicity of a Welsh prophet called Myrddin Emrys. Despite his ''supernatural'' status it is Merlin, of all the great characters of the Arthurian world, who has the strongest claim to have existed.

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Book SynopsisThe epic story of the fall of the Inca Empire to Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in the aftermath of a bloody civil war, and the recent discovery of the lost guerrilla capital of the Incas, Vilcabamba, by three American explorers.In 1532, the fifty-four-year-old Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro led a force of 167 men, including his four brothers, to the shores of Peru. Unbeknownst to the Spaniards, the Inca rulers of Peru had just fought a bloody civil war in which the emperor Atahualpa had defeated his brother Huascar. Pizarro and his men soon clashed with Atahualpa and a huge force of Inca warriors at the Battle of Cajamarca. Despite being outnumbered by more than two hundred to one, the Spaniards prevailed-due largely to their horses, their steel armour and swords, and their tactic of surprise. They captured and imprisoned Atahualpa. Although the Inca emperor paid an enormous ransom in gold, the Spaniards executed him anyway. The following year, the Spaniards

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Book SynopsisThe resilient people of Kent have taken it all in their stride and this story encompasses how they lived, worked and played through hundreds of years of colourful history.

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Book SynopsisThe story of the world’s first working-class cityTrade Review"Epic new book charts city's long history.""Book gets under the city's skin and reveals just what makes it tick."

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Book SynopsisThey were undoubtedly pillagers, raiders and terrifying warriors, but they were also great pioneers, artists and traders - a dynamic people, whose skill and daring in their exploration of the world has left an indelible impression a thousand years on.

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Book SynopsisBristol: City on Show is the much-anticipated follow-up to the bestselling collection Bath: City on Show. This unique celebration of life in the city contains a stunning portfolio of new and original views of Bristol's most notable locations, all by local photographers. These images are given new richness by more than 100 of the rarest engravings and archive photographs of the city, capturing the bustle of life in the city through the ages. Rich with Georgian splendour and architectural grandeur, Bristol has evolved to meet the changing needs and tastes of its residents and visitors. This book is a compelling and powerful reminder of past times with a fresh and revealing look at life today.

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Book SynopsisThis book puts Cheddar Man into a wider archaeological context and explains the scientific detective work behind the headlines which made him an international celebrity nine millennia after his death.

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Book SynopsisSheffield Past & Present gives a fascinating insight into the dramatic changes that have taken place in the city during the 20th century. The book recalls houses and public buildings, shops, factories and pubs that have vanished or been changed almost beyond recognition. The pictures show changing types of transport and fashion, and the developing character of streets and districts as they took on the form that is familiar today. The astonishing periods of growth that occurred during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, and since the Second World War, are particularly well illustrated. Many aspects of the changing city are recalled - hospitals and schools, places of work and recreation, parks and squares, suburban streets and the main thoroughfares - and the pictures record the ceaseless building and rebuilding that characterises the city today. The author has combined a remarkable selection of archive photographs with modern views of the same scenes in order to record the transfo

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Book SynopsisCannibalism is unquestionably one of the oldest and deepest-seated taboos. Even in an age when almost nothing is sacred, religious, moral and social prohibitions surround the topic. But even as our minds recoil at the mention of actual acts of cannibalism there is some dark fascination with the subject. Appalling crimes of humans eating other humans are blown into major news stories and gory movies: both Hitchcock''s Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were based on the crimes of Ed Gein, who is profiled, along with others, in this book. In Eat Thy Neighbour the authors put the subject of cannibalism into its social and historical perspective.

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Book SynopsisA classic work that must be included in the library of any railway enthusiastTrade ReviewRailway enthusiasts should consider it essential.

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Book SynopsisWorld War II was only a few hours old when the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest campaign of the Second World War and the most complex submarine war in history, began with the sinking of the unarmed passenger liner Athenia by the German submarine U30. Based on the mastery of the latest research and written from a mid-Atlantic rather than the traditional Anglo-centric perspective, Marc Milner focuses on the confrontation between opposing forces and the attacks on Allied shipping that lay at the heart of the six-year struggle. Against the backdrop of the battle for the Atlantic lifeline he charts the fascinating development of U-boats and the techniques used by the Allies to suppress and destroy these stealth weapons.

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Book SynopsisBeginning in 1912 with the four-funnel France, the nostalgic voyage continues with the great and grand transatlantic liners of the French Line, the CGT.

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Book SynopsisThe first two chapters provide a resume of how the coinage of the central Roman state changed, developed and stumbled. In Britain most coins in museums and collections come from hoards (coins deposited in a group) or from coins found singly during excavation or walking over fields. These two classes are very different and are examined separately. The author then looks at how coins were used in Roman Britain, and finally explains the differences between Britain and the rest of the Roman Empire. Despite the need for quantitative as well as well as qualitative analysis, Richard Reece has - for the benefit of those who are understandably put off by reams of statistics - banished all numbers and numerical methods to a single short Appendix. The result is a book sparkling with Dr Reece''s characteristically incisive insights that can be appreciated by anyone interested in Britain''s past.

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Book SynopsisHow does excavation enable the archaeologist to reconstruct the past? Victor Ambrus, who has been the Channel 4 Time Team artist since the programme''s inception in 1994, has selected some of the key excavations from the many series to show how it has been possible to recreate snapshots of the past.

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Book SynopsisIndependent Wales was defined in the centuries after the Romans withdrew from Britain in AD 410. The wars of Welsh independence encompassed centuries of raids, expeditions, battles and sieges, but they were more than a series of military encounters: they were a political process.

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Book SynopsisCompleted in 1944 as a satellite airfield to nearby St David''s, Brawdy soon supplanted its parent for meteorological reasons. Used initially by RAF Coastal Command, it passed to the Royal Navy in 1946, becoming HMS Goldcrest. The base was used by the Navy up to 1974, when the RAF resumed control once again. Used as an advanced training facility, Hunters and later Hawks were based there, as was a secret US Navy Oceanographic Research unit. Since 1996, Brawdy has been used by the Army. For many, Brawdy was also synonymous with the air displays held there for many years and for its search and rescue role, making it a widely known location.

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Book SynopsisThis is the account of a very ordinary woman who, during a 38-year career in nursing, had many exciting and far-from-ordinary adventures.Nursing was not always easy, as evidenced in various episodes,not least, during training, visits to matron with broken thermometers and later, stressful times when newly qualified, and during midwifery. There were exciting months as a Nursing Sister on board the P&O liner ''Oriana''followed by a few years as a domiciliary midwife in Liverpool,culminating in nineteen years serving in Queen Alexandra''s Royal Army Nursing Corps.They include the tale of a Christian Dior necklace, one of owning a rowing boat while a pupil midwife in Plymouth, and world exploration with the Merchant Navy. QA Postings included Hong Kong, Nepal, Germany and Cyprus, the latter working with the RoyalAir Force at Princess Mary''s RAF Hospital, Akrotiri. Several flights were great privileges, onein a Shackleton, one with the Red Arrows, one in a Lightning, and one in a helicopte

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